Two contracts to improve storm water drainage and remove silt buildup to cost nearly $60,000

The Town Council voted unanimously at a public forum on Monday to authorize funding for two maintenance projects that would improve drainage at the 300 block of Tapawingo Road SW and remove silt buildup in public culverts at Kingsley Road and Route 123.

"This is an ongoing routine project for the town, to improve drainage and provide basic maintenance to our streets," said Council member Edythe Kelleher. "The town is always interested in maintaining projects like these before they become a more serious problem."

The two contracts, both awarded to Alexandria-based Sagres Construction Corporation, total nearly $60,000. While the silt removal had been a specific item listed in the Vienna’s approved fiscal year 2007 budget, the near $30,000 to repair the drainage at Tapawingo Road SW was allocated from the general fund.

"We’re a pretty detail-oriented town, so we always like to look where we are spending our money," said Mayor M. Jane Seeman. "It’s always important for us to review these projects."

The town had already approved the money for the silt removal project with the authorization of Vienna’s budget last year, officials were authorizing the awarding of the contracts.

VIENNA IS PERFORMING the maintenance projects to offset natural deterioration as a result of continual use, adverse weather and time, according to a town staff report.

The Tapawingo Road SW project focuses on a storm drain that lies perpendicular to the road between Hillcrest Drive and Cottage Street. As a result of consistent seepage of groundwater and natural weather— and construction-induced erosion, the pipe has lost some of its drainage effectiveness and is beginning to adversely affect the surface of the road above it, it continued.

"Without this repair, the road may be subject to a cave in," the report read.

Vienna is undertaking the silt removal project in drainage culverts at Kingsley Road near the Vienna Woods Swim and Tennis Club and at the intersection of Route 123 and Beulah Road.

The removal of the silt is a routine process for the town, according to Council member Edythe Kelleher. The silt settles in the culverts as a result of erosion, as affected by weather patterns and construction projects, according to Public Works director Holly Chu. The amount of silt that will be removed could be as much as 10 tons, Chu said.

The projects are slated to start at the beginning of next week. The Town’s Public Works Department will be directing traffic control as needed during the construction and removals, according to the staff report.

Tapawingo Road SW will be closed to through traffic from Hillcrest Drive and Cottage Street throughout the duration of the project, which is expected to last one to two weeks, according to Chu. A detour will be set up for traffic to temporarily flow through Kingsley Road.

Traffic along Beulah Road, Route 123 and Kingsley Road may be sporadically interrupted during the silt removal, Chu said.

"Those people who make up our public works department are some of the hardest-working and most dedicated of the staff that we’ve got," said Robinson. "No matter how cold it is out there or if it’s the middle of the night, they’re out there getting the job done."